Up until this week, Japan’s biggest stock by market value had a very optimistic start to 2026, but it has abruptly changed direction.
In the previous five trading sessions, SoftBank shares have dropped by more than a fifth due to rumors that the company is having trouble obtaining a loan, which corresponds with some faltering in the general narrative for technology equities tied to artificial intelligence.
SoftBank (JP:9984) fell more than 11% at one point on Tuesday alone in Tokyo before somewhat rising to close down 8.3%. A Bloomberg report that SoftBank was having trouble raising a $10 billion loan, secured by its 13% interest in OpenAI, seems to be the catalyst for the decline. A request for comment was not answered by SoftBank.
SoftBank’s stake in OpenAI is expected to be over $110 billion, given that the business was valued at $852 billion in its most recent investment round in March.
Concerns regarding OpenAI’s listing may be a contributing factor. The Wall Street Journal revealed that the company had hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to provide advice on a possible listing in September. The company has filed a private IPO application. With SpaceX’s launch this Friday and Anthropic’s announcement last week that it will go public, this would complete a trifecta of massive flotations this year.
Last week, U.S. media reported that OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, was in talks with the White House about the government possibly acquiring a stake, providing more proof that the company may be keen to find new funding sources.
There were rumors in the markets earlier in 2026 that some SoftBank insiders were doubting the company’s CEO’s steadfast dedication to OpenAI. Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank, reportedly dismissed the worries. Press reports that OpenAI was having trouble meeting internal revenue and user growth targets roughly coincided with this talk.
Following the announcement of SoftBank’s ambitious plan to invest EUR45 billion over the next five years in AI infrastructure and datacenters in France two weeks ago, lenders may also be concerned about some of the bank’s other expenditure promises.
SoftBank’s shares continue to show a robust 46% return in 2026 and an even more spectacular 219% gain in the last 12 months, despite the recent declines in share price. A more significant factor driving SoftBank’s shares this year has been the significant increase in its 90% holding in Arm Holdings, even though the OpenAI funding is currently making headlines.
The shares of the semiconductor and software design firm Arm Holdings (ARM), which is listed in the United States, tripled in 2026 before the drop that started last week. The value of SoftBank’s holdings exceeded $400 billion.
